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Quilt Puzzle: We Are the Quilters
Meet a QA Member: Vicki Harrell
The Quilt Alliance membership includes some of the most interesting people in the quilt world! This series will introduce and document the rich stories and talents of our members. In this episode, meet Vicki Harrell, a quilt restorer and retired Home Economics teacher from Ayden, North Carolina. Vicki is not only a member of the Quilt Alliance, but is also a member of the Greenvile Quilters Guild, the American Quilt Study Group and the Carolina Textile Study Group. I met Vicki through Lynn Lancaster Gorges, a conservator based in New Bern, North Carolina who restores and studies textiles. I was meeting with Lynn about a quilt history matter, and I told her about a friend looking for the services of a quilt restorer. I confessed that after seeing the beautiful well-loved quilt made by my friend’s grandmother, I was tempted to try to repair it myself. Lynn was kindly encouraging, but also recommended fellow conservator Vicki Harrell, also located in Eastern N.C. I contacted Vicki and she was glad to work with my friend to restore his quilt. After the work was completed, my friend emailed me to say he was so pleased with the work Vicki had done, and he attached the restoration report she provided. Vicki’s careful restoration and thorough documentation show a real love of quilts and their makers, and I am eager to share her story with you. I hope you story-loving, quilt-loving folks enjoy my virtual visit with Vicki Harrell in our very first episode of our series, Meet a QA Member! Begin or renew your Quilt Alliance membership today. …
Quilt Puzzle: Pathways (We Are Here)
Your Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle Tip: for best results, solve puzzle on this page on a desktop computer or laptop. If you are solving on a mobile device, click on the puzzle piece icon in the lower righthand corner to solve on the Jigsaw Planet website. Welcome to another quilt jigsaw puzzle from Quilt Alliance! The beautiful quilts in the puzzles have all been entries in past Quilt Alliance quilt contests. Be sure to sign up for our blog notifications, so that you don’t miss any of the upcoming puzzles. Pathways (We Are Here) by Amy Anderson This month’s puzzle spotlights a quilt titled Pathways (We Are Here) made by Amy Anderson of Asheville, North Carolina for the 2014 Quilt Alliance contest and auction, Inspired By. Materials and techniques include: cotton, machine piecing and quilting Artist’s Statement Vintage quilts are often strikingly modern in appearance. As a modern quilter, I often think about my place in the long history of quilting. All quilters share one path – albeit one with dead ends, side roads, loops and forks, twists and turns. The inspiration for this quilt is a labyrinth, but for me the practice of quilting is truly a puzzle with no beginning or end. About Quilt Alliance We rely on the generous support of donors and members like you to sustain our projects. If you support our mission of documenting, preserving, and sharing the stories of quilts and quiltmakers, join us by becoming a member or renewing your membership, making a donation, or learning how your business or corporation can become a supporter of the Quilt Alliance. Welcome to another quilt jigsaw puzzle from Quilt Alliance! The beautiful quilts in the puzzles have all been entries in past Quilt Alliance quilt contests. Be sure to sign up for our blog notifications, so that you don’t miss any of the upcoming puzzles. We rely on the generous support of donors and members like you to sustain our projects. If you support our mission of documenting, preserving, and sharing the stories of quilts and quiltmakers, join us by becoming a member or renewing your membership, making a donation, or learning how your business or corporation can become a supporter of the Quilt…
Teaching Kids to Quilt: Three Tips for Getting Started
The Quilt Alliance has always been dedicated to documenting the ‘now’ of quiltmaking. We record interviews with quiltmakers who are making quilts today, and who have shaped the long history of the quilting world. But we’re also excited about the future of quilting–which we hope is long and robust! That’s why last year we launched our KidsQuilt Quilting Kit–everything a kid (or anyone new to quilting!) needs to make their first quilt. The kit includes pre-printed wholecloth panels, a needle, thread, binding tape, instructions, and of course, a label and permanent archival pen. If you’ve got a kid in your life who might love to make their own quilt, we encourage you to get started teaching this future quiltmaker! There are a lot of ways to introduce kids to quilting, but it can be tricky to know how to get started. We looked back in our archives for interviews with kids, grandparents, teachers, and family members who shared their stories of quilting with kids. Here are just a few pieces of advice that we’ve learned from our oral history projects. As we say in our KidsQuilt instruction book, “there’s no wrong way to make a quilt when you’re just getting started!”, so we’d love to hear your stories and tips about quilting with kids. 1. Start small! Often, the biggest satisfaction comes from seeing a project all the way through from start to finish. One of the best ways to begin a kids quilting project is by starting small! Picking an easy, manageable project as a first foray into quilting has a lot of positives: it’s scaled for kids, portable, and can be easier to finish before little attention spans start to wander. This is why we picked a 10 x 10 inch block for our rainbow star KidsQuilt Kit. And just because it’s small doesn’t mean it’s not useful! Small quilts can be great as placemats, wall-hangings, potholders, doll quilts, a mat for Lego-creations, and other accessories for imaginative play. Quilter Kelly Anderson was in 5th grade when she made this 8.5 x 11 inch ladybug quilt that she talks about in her 2009 Quilters’ S.O.S. – Save Our Stories interview. Here’s Kelly talking about her quilt, and the feeling she gets when her work is finished: Kelly Anderson: It was a quilt that I had made in about October. I used the iron on stuff and so then I ironed the patterns onto my quilt and then I just stitched around it to make it look nice. I dedicated the quilt to my Papa Lyn who had Alzheimer’s. It was in an auction just recently and it was sold for $100.00 and so I’m really proud of it… Karen Musgrave: Tell me about your interest in quiltmaking. Kelly Anderson: I think it’s fun, I think it’s a way you can make express how you’re feeling and you can like show it off to friends and family. I like putting beads on my quilts. I also like looking at other people’s quilts because I think they are just so beautiful sometimes […] I like making them for family members and just having the feeling that they’re done and looking at them and seeing my mistakes and also the great things about them. Karen Musgrave: Is there any aspects of quiltmaking you don’t like? Kelly Anderson: Well, sometimes I don’t like how long it takes because sometimes you’ll get this great picture and sometimes it will just take quite a while, but then when its done its always really great. Read Kelly’s full interview here. 2. Let them pick what they love (even if it’s not what you love!) Even if the kids in your life aren’t interested yet in the actual construction of a quilt (and hey–I get it! Doing the actual quilting is my least favorite part, too!), they might love to work together to design a quilt. Bring them along to the quilt shop and let them exercise their creativity by picking their own fabrics or selecting a design. In her QSOS interview, quilter Toni Baumgard talks about making a quilt with her granddaughter, who selected a pattern that maybe wouldn’t have been Toni’s first choice. As Toni tells it, playing a role in designing the quilt made it even more special to her granddaughter. Toni Baumgard: All of the quilts that I have made have been given away. I always have made them for someone. Renee Jackson: And do you make a particular type of quilt? Toni Baumgard: Whatever the person wants. I’ll give you an example. My granddaughter was 9 and we went down and picked the material that she wanted, and she picked out that pattern which was the hardest, most complicated appliqué that you could ever imagine. We color keyed it in, and she still has that hanging in her room and she still loves that quilt. It meant a great deal to her to help me pick it out. Listen to Toni’s full interview here. 3. Pair your quiltmaking with philanthropy There aren’t many warmer, fuzzier feelings than giving away a quilt that you’ve made and watching the recipient’s face light up. Quilts can be amazing sources of comfort, memory, joy, and honor. Consider sharing that feeling with a kid in your life, and work together to make a quilt just for gifting. It’s a gift that keeps giving: a chance to be creative, to learn a new skill, and a great chance to teach about the power of community, sharing, charitable giving, and thoughtfulness. This might mean collaborating on a quilt for Quilts of Valor or a local hospital. Or making a doll quilt for a sibling’s favorite teddy bear. Making a quilt to give is a fantastic way to talk with kids about that warm, fuzzy feeling of giving something to someone else. Here’s an interview with Lindsey Kroening, who made a quilt with her grandmother for a neighbor and veteran: Go for it! Start quilting with a kid today! Quilt Alliance KidsQuilt Kits are available from our webshop here. They contain fabric, batting, binding, pins, needles, thread, a fabric marking pen, and full-color instructions–everything you need for a color mini-quilt all tucked into a sturdy canvas backpack. Another way you can help: Sponsor a KidsQuilt Quilting Kit! Make a $25 donation on our donation page here. In the order notes write “KidsQuilt Sponsorship.” We will ship a KidsQuilt kit to one of our nonprofit Museum and Community educational partners. A needy kid will be gifted the kit (with a Welcome to Quilting card) and matched with a volunteer as…
Quilt Puzzle: Grandma’s House
Your Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle Tip: for best results, solve puzzle on this page on a desktop computer or laptop. If you are solving on a mobile device, click on the puzzle piece icon in the lower righthand corner to solve on the Jigsaw Planet website. Welcome to another quilt jigsaw puzzle from Quilt Alliance! The beautiful quilts in the puzzles have all been entries in past Quilt Alliance quilt contests. Be sure to sign up for our blog notifications, so that you don’t miss any of the upcoming puzzles. Grandma’s House by Peggy Schroder This month’s puzzle spotlights a quilt titled Grandma’s House made by Peggy Schroder of Sweet Home, Oregon for the 2012 Quilt Alliance contest and auction, Home Is Where the Quilt Is. Materials include: commercial and hand-painted fabrics and computer printing on fabric, buttons, embroidery thread and toy car. Techniques – fused, machine applique, french knots (hand embroidery), hand stitching, couching. Toy car is easily removable! Artist’s Statement Many quilters learned to take their first stitches at grandma’s knee while others may have received their very first quilt from grandma. How fortunate for us! Now many of us are grandmas and we continue to pass along this legacy … nothing could be more comforting. Remember, it’s the heart that makes a home … blessed are we. About Quilt Alliance We rely on the generous support of donors and members like you to sustain our projects. If you support our mission of documenting, preserving, and sharing the stories of quilts and quiltmakers, join us by becoming a member or renewing your membership, making a donation, or learning how your business or corporation can become a supporter of the Quilt Alliance. Welcome to another quilt jigsaw puzzle from Quilt Alliance! The beautiful quilts in the puzzles have all been entries in past Quilt Alliance quilt contests. Be sure to sign up for our blog notifications, so that you don’t miss any of the upcoming puzzles. We rely on the generous support of donors and members like you to sustain our projects. If you support our mission of documenting, preserving, and sharing the stories of quilts and quiltmakers, join us by becoming a member or renewing your membership, making a donation, or learning how your business or corporation can become a supporter of the Quilt…
Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle Archive
Welcome to the quilt jigsaw puzzle archive! The beautiful quilts in these puzzles have all been entries in past Quilt Alliance quilt contests. Be sure to sign up for our blog notifications, so that you don’t miss any of the upcoming puzzles. We rely on the generous support of donors and members like you to sustain our projects. Support our work by becoming a member or renewing your membership, making a donation, or learning how your business or corporation can become a supporter of the Quilt Alliance. Tip: for best results, solve puzzles on a desktop computer or laptop. If you are solving on a mobile device, click on the puzzle piece icon in the lower righthand corner to solve on the Jigsaw Planet…
Quilt Puzzle: Quilted Mary Watches Over Those Who Quilt
Your Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle Tip: for best results, solve puzzle on this page on a desktop computer or laptop. If you are solving on a mobile device, click on the puzzle piece icon in the lower righthand corner to solve on the Jigsaw Planet website. Welcome to another quilt jigsaw puzzle from Quilt Alliance! The beautiful quilts in the puzzles have all been entries in past Quilt Alliance quilt contests. Be sure to sign up for our blog notifications, so that you don’t miss any of the upcoming puzzles. Quilted Mary: Watches Over Those Who Quilt by Victoria Findlay Wolfe This month’s puzzle spotlights a quilt titled Quilted Mary: Watches Over Those Who Quilt made by Victoria Findlay Wolfe of New York, NY for the 2012 Quilt Alliance contest and auction, Home Is Where the Quilt Is. The quilt is machine and hand pieced, machine and hand quilted, embroidered, all cotton fabrics and batting Artist’s Statement My grandmother, a quilter, always had a statue of Mary in her garden surrounded by a bathtub as her shrine. Grandma was serious about her religion, but never took herself too seriously and had a great sense of humor. So I associate the image of MARY with very fond memories of her. To capture that, I figured, one must have a “Quilted Mary.” Why not! Wink! About Quilt Alliance We rely on the generous support of donors and members like you to sustain our projects. If you support our mission of documenting, preserving, and sharing the stories of quilts and quiltmakers, join us by becoming a member or renewing your membership, making a donation, or learning how your business or corporation can become a supporter of the Quilt Alliance. Welcome to another quilt jigsaw puzzle from Quilt Alliance! The beautiful quilts in the puzzles have all been entries in past Quilt Alliance quilt contests. Be sure to sign up for our blog notifications, so that you don’t miss any of the upcoming puzzles. We rely on the generous support of donors and members like you to sustain our projects. If you support our mission of documenting, preserving, and sharing the stories of quilts and quiltmakers, join us by becoming a member or renewing your membership, making a donation, or learning how your business or corporation can become a supporter of the Quilt…
The Gift of Quilt Stories
The holiday season is in full swing, with all the twinkling lights, shopping bags, baked goods, and travel plans that come with it. To celebrate the season, we thought we’d take a look back at our QSOS interviews and feature some stories of holiday quiltmaking, family, and giving. Do you give quilts as holiday gifts? Or make quilts to accompany your holiday traditions? We’d love to hear more about how your holidays intersect with quilts–leave us a comment! We’ll start out with an excerpt from this interview with Kay Butler, about a Christmas Mystery Quilt. My favorite part of this story is that their mystery quilt group included a journal for each quiltmaker to write “the story of their lives.” What a lovely gift to include with a holiday quilt–a little note or journal that tells that quilt’s story (and of course, a cute label to go along with it!) Heather Gibson: Okay, tell me about the quilt you brought today. Kay Butler: Okay, this is a Christmas Mystery Quilt. We had a Mystery Quilt planned to do in our guild. There were four girls in the group. We were to select the fabric that we wanted, place it in a brown bag, and then pass it on to the next person in the group. And the next person would do a little bit more work, and it’s sort of like a “round robin” idea. And so I started this endeavor with a visit to a quilt shop here in Dover called Rose Valley Quilt Shop. I bought all of my fabrics there, in the Amish Shop, from a very dear friend, Rachel Hershberger. And I had in my head that I wanted a Christmas design. Normally I’m a real purple-lover, a real purple fan. But I thought, ‘I’m going to break from tradition here. I’m going to force myself to think in a different color realm here.’ And I chose what you see here on the end is called the “zinger” fabric. A lot of the quilters will buy a zinger fabric, and they will pull from that zinger fabric the various colors that are in there, like the reds and the greens and the golds that you see. So I bought the fabric. And in the brown bag we also include a journal. Each lady includes a journal, and they write the story of their lives in the journal. And what’s taking place in their lives, if they’re having difficulty with that step of the project that they’ve been doing. And that also documents the quilt and tells a little bit more about the quilt. Judy Whitson of Tuscaloosa, Alabama talked about gifting quilts, both during the holidays, and year round. I love the idea of every gifted quilt being a memory quilt that remembers both the maker and the recipient (and all the more reason to label those quilts!). “I love to give. It is a sign that you really care for somebody when you give them a handmade item like a little baby quilt or a quilt for their bed or something, and it is more or less a memory quilt. I always put a signature block on there saying who it is for, the date, and who designed it and who made it, quilted.” I also loved this interview with Resna Ximines Hammer in Washington, D.C. about the ways she uses her quilts in her family’s holiday traditions. I can’t help but laugh at interviewer Evelyn Salinger’s question “do you actually use this on Friday nights yourself?” because I know I have a few quilted objects I’m a little hesitant to use. But Resna’s notion that a table should be beautiful, and that handmade objects can enhance a family ceremony, is a lovely sentiment for the holidays. Evelyn Salinger (ES): Good. Nice of you to come today with your things to show. Let’s start out first with your telling me what you have made here. Resna Hammer (RH): These are two–One of the things that I am actually very passionate about is Jewish ceremonial kinds of cloths. And this is called a Challah cover and it’s used to cover bread on the Friday night dinner. This particular one also I tried to incorporate all of the holidays that would come in the certain period of time. Here this is Hanukkah, this is the symbol for Hanukkah, this is Purim, which is another one, and the pomegranates are for the High Holy Days. ES: Do you actually use this on Friday nights yourself? RH: We actually use it on Friday nights. ES: Every Friday night or just on the holiday time? RH: Just on the holiday. I have another one for Friday. I believe that the table should be beautiful. And normally what your traditional Challah covers are usually silk and they are painted on and I thought what I wanted to do and what I’ve been doing, a wonderful quilted ones that I just think enhance the day and the ceremony. This also has incorporated in it the seven species, which is in the Bible and that are things that are all incorporated with Shabbes or to do with the Sabbath. What I’ve written here in Hebrew is, it’s like, ‘For all the Miracles that You Perform for Us,’ and ‘We Thank You.’ I wanted it every Friday night to be able to see that. We’ll end with some sweet words from Sue Stiner of Newark, Delaware. We all love to spend time with our fabric stash, but during the holidays, what could be better than spending time with our ‘stash’ of family and friends? “Most of the quilts I’ve made though, I’ve given away. But know that I’m building up a stash of grandkids along with a stash of fabric; I’ll probably be making more for family than I will for friends.” Happy holidays to all of you from all of us at the Quilt Alliance! Thank you for another year of sharing your quilts, your stories, and your gifts with us! -Emma Parker, Project…
Quilt Puzzle: Color Our World
Your Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle Tip: for best results, solve puzzle on this page on a desktop computer or laptop. If you are solving on a mobile device, click on the puzzle piece icon in the lower righthand corner to solve on the Jigsaw Planet website. Welcome to another quilt jigsaw puzzle from Quilt Alliance! The beautiful quilts in the puzzles have all been entries in past Quilt Alliance quilt contests. Be sure to sign up for our blog notifications, so that you don’t miss any of the upcoming puzzles. Color Our World by Nanette Fleischman This month’s puzzle spotlights a quilt titled Color Our World made by Nanette Fleischman of Burnsville, NC (now in Murfreesboro, TN) for the 2011 Quilt Alliance contest and auction, Alliances: People, Patterns, Passion. The quilt is machine paper pieced, with commercial fabrics and machine quilted. Artist’s Statement Every color is a world of its own, complete in itself. I try to show the power and beauty of the combination of colors. Color is my passion. About Quilt Alliance We rely on the generous support of donors and members like you to sustain our projects. If you support our mission of documenting, preserving, and sharing the stories of quilts and quiltmakers, join us by becoming a member or renewing your membership, making a donation, or learning how your business or corporation can become a supporter of the Quilt Alliance. Welcome to another quilt jigsaw puzzle from Quilt Alliance! The beautiful quilts in the puzzles have all been entries in past Quilt Alliance quilt contests. Be sure to sign up for our blog notifications, so that you don’t miss any of the upcoming puzzles. We rely on the generous support of donors and members like you to sustain our projects. If you support our mission of documenting, preserving, and sharing the stories of quilts and quiltmakers, join us by becoming a member or renewing your membership, making a donation, or learning how your business or corporation can become a supporter of the Quilt…